This is the fifth round of negotiations, which have previously taken place in Illinois, New York, Maryland and Massachusetts. La Canfora writes that talks are expected to continue into next month. We’d be happy to hear Boylan tell both sides to stay in Minnesota until they’ve reached a deal.

Early in March 2011, we had two extensions and all the optimism about a deal getting done. In the end, we got the middle finger from De Smith. (Opps. Sorry. The players, not De Smith. De Smith is just there.)

Make it happen and get a deal. If ANY games are missed; including pre-season, some fans will be lost forever…..while others will take years to come back. Not everyone is a football addict, the casual fans will abandon this sport. The NFL may also lose large numbers of Americans that are currently unemployed, underemployed, or just simply struggling…these people will have no sympathy for the current labor dispute. Only a small percentage of fans are die-hard, only a small percentage will care enough to read profootballtalk, listen to NFL radio on Sirius, or subscribe to the Sunday Ticket on DirecTV…I do all of the above and you probably do too and even we are getting pissed off and questioning our loyalty. Wake up NFL, wake up NFLPA, wake up lawyers, having a larger percentage of a much smaller pie is always less money. 52% owners, 48% players, rookie salary cap, and the future possibility of an 18 game season to be negotiated are all very reasonable and should be agreed upon this week. Get it done!

jbythebay says:Jun 28, 2011 8:12 AM

am I the only one who thinks Jeff Saturday looks like Jerome Clifford from ‘The Client’?

I hope they keep the lawyers out of these meetings or if not then we can kiss a part or all of the season goodby. I have a question for you Mike, they all say that the life on average of an NFL player is 3 1/2 years then why fight over free agency after 4 or 6 years?

Forgive me if I’m not holding my breath this week but I’m waiting for the next bucket of cold water.

berniemadoffsides says:Jun 28, 2011 8:28 AM

Let there be football!

sketchydave says:Jun 28, 2011 8:32 AM

Just picked up a new Stevie Johnson jersey, I’m a delusional Bills fan ALWAYS thinking playoffs right about now… But is it that delusional to think these jack asses need to put a little bit of sweat into this and not come out until there’s signed papers?..

Both sides have no sense of urgency, just taking their sweet time. BS!!!!

berniemadoffsides says:Jun 28, 2011 9:17 AM

@ sketchydave:

I don’t know how Bills fans do it, and I mean that in the most genuinely respectful way possible. Losing so many consecutive Super Bowls and just getting pounded in a ridiculously tough division… I give you credit for being as diehard as you are. I hope you guys win your division, I really do.

vtsquirm, I thought the same thing. Although it seems like they are picking sites where some of the negotiators live. IE, Kraft in Massachusetss, Mara in NY. etc. If they meet in Carolina next we will know for sure.

Well, what we are seeing is the game of Big Business in action! BOTH sides are to blame here. They both were hoping this would play out in court, which it didnt, so now they are talking…these talks should have been going on since January!!! I am afraid that with the size and magnitude of this CBA, we may miss some of the season. In which case EVERYBODY Loses, EXCEPT the LAWYERS who will be paid regardless!!! I think when this is over, we need to have all the lawyers on the field taking a kickoff and run it back…against a special team. This way they can get clobbered and earn their money the same way the players they are representing do!